Surface and Texture Painting/ Final Reflection

I finished the surface and texture painting! I worked very hard on this painting, coming in the morning and after school to complete it. It took me a long time, but the end result was worth it.

I created an intricate composition in the windowsill with the visor, yarn, glass, light bulbs, and cloth. I placed the first light bulb in a higher position behind the transparent green cloth to show how distant it was from the visor, glass, and sunglasses. I combined different hues of green to make the leaf pattern stand out. I used highlights and shadows to bring out the little folds of the silver cloth. In the background, I painted the window frame and depicted the scenery I saw through the window. I used little details and made the twigs smaller and blurred so the main focus would be on the objects in the foreground.

I am very happy that I was able to portray all the textures of the cloth and make them seem realistic. I have also learned how to paint light bulbs and show highlights and shadows in each object; these were the most challenging parts of this painting.

I am so glad I took this course because I learned a lot; I have improved a significant amount since last year. I have learned many great techniques on how to use oil paint. I really enjoyed oil painting and I had a great time with everyone in the class.

Progress on Surface and Texture Painting

This painting is going well. There were some difficulties I had making this painting and I am still battling them. It is challenging to make glass seem transparent. It is also hard for me to get the right texture of the fabric and make the leaf pattern of the cloth really pop out so you could feel it. I am working on fixing up the fabric and getting the right hue for the silver color of the fabric. I wanted to start another small painting, but it looks like there is no more time left. Hopefully, I can fully develop this painting and make it look finished before the end of the week.

Observations on the History of Oil Painting

The major players in the history of oil painting are Da Vinci, Van Gogh, Picasso, Monet, and Dali because they have all made paintings and portraits that impacted people. They have contributed many paintings in which they expressed their views and emotions. Their artworks have powerful meanings and messages behind them and most of them tell a story. They are the most influential and use symbolism the most to create masterpieces.

I don't really know who is missing from the list.

Most of oil painting seems to take place in Europe.

All the paintings are held and kept in museums all over the world for people to admire them. Paintings have different influences on people depending on where they live. If they are held in Europe, the people there will be inspired by the artwork and try to recreate it using a different new style. Where the paontings live affects the public and inventors.

Process of Surface and Texture Painting

Why Oil Paint?

Painters choose to use oil paint because it offers more freedom. With oil paint, an artist can always change the painting at any time and and there are unlimited designs the painter can make on a canvas. Oil paint is pigment mixed with oil. Oil paint dates back to the 15th century, when it was used in Europe.
Once a canvas is stretched, many coats of gesso are applied to shrink the canvas. The canvas is then sanded with sandpaper to make it smoother and easier to paint on. Once that is done, creativity begins.

The artist or painter applies turpentine all over the canvas, so it will be easier to erase or fix mistakes. This is true because oil paint dries slower than most paints.Then the artist sketches the forms and step by step builds the up the painting with color. The oil paint and linseed oil used serve as varnishes to produce bright vivid colors. These oils give the painting a glossy finish. Regular paint hardens and you can not go back to fix a mistake; therefore, it shows up in the end result. Oil paint lets one blend colors and show the highlights, mid tones, and shadows of an object, setting, or person more effectively. No brushstrokes are shown; with regular paint the strokes are more visible.

Plus, the artist's style shows through the painting. Glazing is a technique Leonardo Da Vinci used in the painting The Mona Lisa. He kept building up a thin layer of paint upon another thin layer of paint to give the painting depth and texture.


Overall, oil paint has more benefits and advantages than normal paint.

What is a Portrait?

A portrait is a painting or picture that depicts a person's face through visuals and color. A portrait captures a person's characteristics and mood at a certain time.

In the Self-Portrait of Chuck Close, Chuck Close uses a grid to paint his face. Each tiny section is made up of little images using a variety of colors and geometric and organic shapes. This is called minimalism. Chuck Close uses a lot of warm vibrant colors in his face and uses dark cool colors for the background. The black turtleneck fades into the background; this draws the focus to his face. He also uses techniques such as photo realism and pointillism.

Photo realism is when a lot of detail and normal everyday items are used to make an image look like a photo. Pointillism is a style using tiny dots of color to produce a cohesive painting.

These techniques give the portrait a pixel photo feel. This painting shows Chuck Close is a very meticulous and successful painter.

The person painted in the Librarian by Giuseppe Arcimboldo really loves books and probably loves to read. The open book used for the hair could mean the person has an open mind.

Giuseppe Arcimboldo really arranges the books well to compose the nose, cheek, and lips of the face.

In the painting Diego on My Mind, Frida Kahlo has an image of Diego Rivera above her eyebrows to show she is always thinking about him. Diego Rivera was married to Kahlo, but they had a rocky, unsteady marriage. They had their ups and downs. tears fall down Kahlo's face to show how worried she was over Diego whether they were together or not. Kahlo also uses warm colors to bring out the features of her face and Diego's.

Although all these artists answer the concept of portrait, they do not convey the concept in the tradtional way. Close, Arcimboldo, and Kahlo reinvent the idea of portrait through different styles, shapes, and forms. They use images and symbols to make a unified portrait of a person.

Reflection on White Objects Painting

Completing the White Objects painting was a real challenge for me because I had a tough time adding the shadows, making highlights, and getting the right color and texture of the fabric.
I spent too long outlining the objects and fixing one part at a time. I finished the painting yet I do not feel as though i really completely finished it. I would have worked more on adding details to the fabric and the cups.

For the next painting, I plan to pace myself and not take so long on one part of the painting.

A Sense of Place

The mood created in the mansion is one of abandonment in the first painting. This painting by Anselm Kiefer shows the slow deterioration of a hallway in a mansion. The glass seems broken and the brown wooden walls seem to be crumbling based on the varied texture. Kiefer uses continuation of the open doorways and vantange point to make the hallway look like it goes on forever. There is a broken glass chandelier made up of light and dark contrasting colors, on the floor; this shows that this place was once a luxurious wealthy place probably full of people, but it has lost its sheen and glamor now. No one appears to have lived there.

The second painting by Edward Hopper depicts the lady on the right hand side of the theater as being troubled or dismayed. Maybe she was waiting for someone and that person did not show up. She also seems to be in deep thought because of the gesture she makes with her hands; one holding the side of her face, the other hand propping up the first one. The warm bright colors of the red curtain, and the contrasting colors depict the essence of loneliness. The lamp sheds light on the woman's face highlighting her features and captures the emotion in her face. There is a sense of longing also. Plus, the place where she is standing is more illuminated than the rest of the theater. The rows of seats are dim. This creates contrast and puts more emphasis on the woman.

Start of White Objects Painting

Where Are You At?

I really like the pepper I did. Even though it was a small study, it was the first one i really think I did a good job on.

I am still working on the White Objects painting and I find it difficult to get the right color or shade of white that matches the actual object's color. It is a little hard to make the fabric look like it has texture and folds on it. I also have trouble making the shadows and highlights really stand out. However, I am learning day by day and I am getting a little better. I am making my way.

I have improved on color mixing and showing different textures of the cloth in the White Objects Painting through varying the brushstrokes. I have also used wet brush to effectively mix colors and dry brush to blend colors together.

Looking at paintings made throughout history have a huge impact on us as painters today. Seeing others paintings gives us painters inspiration to make great paintings. We receive an insight to the artist's mind, emotions, and views through the abstract and surrealistic paintings. Seeing many painting like Starry Night and Sunflower by Van Gogh and many others helps bring out our creativity.

Some Famous Paintings

The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali is a very renown, unforgettable piece of art. It depicts floppy, limp like watches and clocks. There is a golden clock that is covered with ants which represents the decadence or decay of time. In the center of the painting is a strange looking creature that sort of resembles a human face with long eyelashes, a big nose and an eyebrow and a lifeless clock on top. The images in the foreground seem like they have appeared out of a bad dream and everything has gone wrong. The only thing that appears to be real are the golden cliffs that are in background. The cliffs symbolize the coast of Catalonia-where he lives.

Salvador Dali was Born on May 11, 1904 in Figueres, Spain. In 1929, he joined the Surrealists. Dali became widely known and got his fame through self publicity. He took over surrealistic theory automatism and turned it into what he called "Critical Paranoia". This is the reason why most of his paintings deal with delusions and hallucinations.

Salvador Dali concocts paintings by combining weird cartoon like objects with realistic objects. His paintings always involve surrealism and things he experienced in his childhood. His paintings are meant to intrigue or confuse the onlooker and make the person think.

I found this painting very interesting and its images of frail bendable clocks and a creature in the foreground and cliffs in the back caught my attention. I like the way he uses repetition with the clocks, continuation, and contrast. He varies the textures of each object to create a sense of the clocks looking floppy. It looks as if you could easily touch them and it would feel rubbery and be lightweight. He emphasizes the cliffs very well by using a lot of detail to accentuate the jagged rough curves of the cliffs and making them a vibrant warm yellow so it is striking to my eye.

I think this painting is important today because it has many meanings and themes. It represents how reality and the imaginary world sometimes get mixed up or become inseparable. It represents dreams people have wishing for something extraordinary to happen. When people watch a fictional movie, the movie has some unreal aspects that capture your attention and could become real through constant thought and manipulation. Some people take the dreams they have and turn it into reality by making a cartoon or writing a story. Persistence of Memory causes viewers to think creatively and beyond and above, and influences them to make other works like it and take action.

Creating the Illusion of Texture

Paul Cezanne uses lots of shadows and highlights in this painting. He uses highlights and mid tones in the fruit and varies the brush strokes on the pears to show the smoothness and bring out its round shape. My eyes are brought straight to the pears because of their warm bright hues of orange. Cezanne effectively uses contrast and shadows and value in the tapestry because it is clear to see all the folds and curves in the cloth it' s as if you could just put your fingers on the cloth and feel its softness and the folds. The side of the painting that contains the tapestry is dark in comparison to the fruit on the white cloth. it creates interest. The vases and jars look smooth and glassy. He mixes up the edges on one of the vases to give it a bumpy criss-cross feeling and pattern that you could touch.

White Object Thumbnail Sketches

Studies in Smallness Paintings and Reflection

These are my two finished paintings. I struggled with making shadows and highlights because I got mixed up with combining complements of the object's color and the paper's color. At times I could not effectively create the shadow or highlight I wanted. However, I am happy with my pepper painting because I was able to incorporate the highlights and shadows well and make the pepper look 3D and realistic.

Composition as a Tool

In the painting Still Life with Three Puppies by Paul Gaughin, Paul Gaughin uses grouping and repetition, and color to make a great painting. He repeats the theme of three puppies, three green cups, and a group of pears. He uses bright radiant colors and a range of hues of yellow and green. He aslo creates balnce through the position and placement of the puppies and the cups and fruit- the cups immediately draw my eye in. The color and attention is in the foreground and the puppies are in the bckground.

Paintings I Remember

This summer I went to the National Young Leaders Conference in Washington, DC. While I was there, I visited the Smithsonian Museum and saw many types of paintings. There were various paintings of landscapes and people. One painting in particular that I remember is an oil painting of a landscape with a beautiful waterfall and green trees and brush that encompassed the water. I remember this painting because it was very detailed and I loved the scenery. Plus, I could see the tiny brushstrokes and all the hard work that went into making the painting.

Morandi vs. Van Gogh; Color

Giorgi Morandi makes paintings of bottles using unsaturated colors. Van Gogh on the other hand makes paintings of flowers using vibrant saturated colors. Morandi's paintings consist of man made objects, where as Van Gogh's paintings deal with nature.


Van Gogh really cares about preserving nature. He makes people aware of what happens to flowers when they are kept inside; they begin to wilt and die. On the contrary, Morandi focuses on the forms of bottles. It isn't really clear what he wants people to take away from his paintings.

Color Mixing Chart

My Skills as an Artist

I can make good paintings using the principles of design. I know how to show texture and make things look realistic in my paintings. I am also good at painting landscapes and showing lots of details.

The major things I struggle with are charcoal drawings and making shadows.

What I Know Now

The primary colors are red, yellow, and blue.
Some secondary colors are orange, green, and purple.These secondary colors are created by mixing two primary colors together.
Complimentary colors are colors that are opposite primary colors on the color wheel. For example, purple is a compliment of yellow. Green is a compliment of red.

To emphasize something in a painting, you could use some of the Art Principles of Design. You could use contrast, balance, symmetry, repetition, or continuation of objects in a painting.

If I was trying to create a shadow on an object in a painting, I would use contrast. I would use the complimentary color of the object to make the shadow seen. To make a highlight I would use a lighter or darker color of the object.

I would use a cool color such as blue for the background to make the object look like it was far away.

I would plan and make different sketches of how I wanted the painting to look like.

Why I'm taking Oil Painting

I signed up for this course because I wanted to learn about oil painting. I saw some students while they were oil painting, and it looked cool. I love painting in general.

Plus, the rest of my classes are very intense, so I wanted a class where I could relax a little.